7+ Best Laptops for College Students Under 500 [Latest Update]
While standalone smartphones and tablets are becoming more popular, most college students don’t realize that they are only limited to performing simple tasks. But there’s a better device that can meet all your needs, from crunching a video to typing a research paper to playing a PC game, and much more.
You need a good laptop!
So, you’re a student who needs a top-notch laptop but is probably working with a tight budget, right?
The good news today is that online manufacturers are keen to shift laptops to students. They offer exciting discounts and deals to accommodate every student. You might even pay less than your budgets. So whether you’re heading off to college or having online schooling like these best laptop for online classes, use this guide to see the overall best laptops for college.
Quick Review – Best Laptops for College Students
Image | Products | Price |
Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop | ||
Lenovo Chromebook C330 2-in-1 Convertible Laptop | ||
Lenovo ideapad S340 Anti-Glare Display Laptop | ||
2020 HP 14 inch HD Laptop Newest for Business and Student | ||
ASUS VivoBook 15 Thin and Light Laptop with Fingerprint | ||
Dell Inspiron 15-5570 15.6in FHD Touchscreen Laptop | ||
BMAX 2 in 1 Convertible Laptop - All-Metal Body |
Top 7 Best Laptops for College and Gaming Under 500
1. Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop – Best Seller
Just like any other best laptops under 500, Acer Aspire 5 Slim has concentrated more on the internal components and not an ultra-bright touchscreen or an all-metal chassis. Acer Aspire’s body is mostly plastic, though it’s capped with a thin aluminum sheet to add an elegant appeal. This PC is ready to make your life easy. It’ll help you set timers, reminders, and alarms, track your appointments, create to-do lists, and much more.
Powerful yet portable! It’s the best companion to take on the go thanks to the 3.97-pound weight. It houses the AMD Ryzen 3 3200U Mobile Processor and can tackle any work, no matter the complexity. Creativity soars to higher heights with the sharp and crispy visuals of its 15.6” Full HD IPS screen.
The narrow bezel offers you sufficient space for your daily computing work, from schoolwork to gaming and anything in between. With the bezel, you’ll experience maximized visuals for crisp and true-to-life amazing games. If you’re a long-hours gamer, the Acer BlueLightShield will keep your eyes free from strain with these top notch Monitors for Eye Strain.
That’s not all!
Be sure to enjoy up to 7.5 hours of battery life and a backlit keyboard (check out our other recommendations) that is easy to navigate. More powerful performance is guaranteed because the laptop comes with a Radeon Vega 3 Graphics-enabling powerful performance. It comes with two speakers at the bottom front edge, which produce a very decent sound just like one of the best laptop for under 600.
Finally, the device supports Wi-Fi 6 for internet connectivity. The memory and storage capacity are also expandable thanks to the 2.5-inch SATA HDD/SSD.
What more can you ask for from such a budget-friendly machine?
- Decent gaming performance
- Expandable storage
- Supports Wi-Fi 6
- Has a 7.5-hour runtime
- Lightweight hence portable
- Matte layered display
- Speaker lacks bass
- The ClickPad’s travel is too short
2. Lenovo Chromebook C330 2-in-1 Convertible Laptop – HD IPS Display
If you’ve got good money, it’s easy to find a super-excellent Chromebook which is one of the best laptops under 500. Don’t look for aluminum construction and high resolution from this Lenovo product. However, you can expect a solid value and reliable performance.
This Lenovo Chromebook is an 11-inch convertible PC. It features the basic specs of a laptop in its competition. From the best feature of 10 hours battery life to the worst feature of an unimpressive low-res screen, it’s still worth your attention.
It comes with an HDMI port, a fairly unique feature for a lenovo laptop in this price range. The machine also boasts a comfy keyboard, but don’t expect a swift performance. With all these, it still happens to be among the best gaming laptops under 300.
You’ll appreciate the easy-to-use Chrome operating system that gives plenty of storage, memory, and much more. It’s sleek, stylish, and secure hence the best laptop for MBA students with the chrome os.
More good news over here!
The 360⁰ convertible PC is less than an inch thin. Its weight is that of a hardback book and can thus be carried anywhere. It is suitable for multimedia works and day-to-day computing, as it gives both offline and online platforms to meet your needs. Lenovo Chromebook C330 is an easy-to-use machine as it doesn’t require any setup – you only log in with your Google account, and you’ll get your maps, emails, photos, and documents on cloud storage.
Built to connect, the lenovo computer includes several USB ports as well as a 4.2 Bluetooth capacity. It also allows you to stay in touch with its built-in camera specially if you are in college and searching for the Best Laptops for Computer Science students. Unlike other PCs in this price range, this one offers built-in virus protection.
- Relatively rare HDMI port
- Long battery life
- Affordable price
- Comfortable keyboard
- Dull and low-res display
- The keyboard isn’t backlit
- Chrome Operating System
3. Lenovo Ideapad S340 – 15.6″ Full HD LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display Laptop
Lenovo IdeaPad S340 Laptop is designed with the end-user in mind. This product is like a jack of all trades. Though it is cheaply priced, it isn’t cheaply made. The Lenovo product is a mix of simple design and solid performance hence it is one best laptops under 500.
The laptop is powered by the 8th Gen Intel Core i3 processor 8145U 2, and so, you’ll enjoy fast processing, irrespective of the weight of your task(s). It includes a thoughtful design of elements. These include a camera shutter that enables you to control your webcam sees, an 8GB DDR4 RAM, Intel core i3 and a 128GB SSD. Other design details to complete your experience include a backlit keyboard and webcam privacy.
The large storage capacity allows both gameplay and work hence the best for college students. The lightweight for easy portability can NEVER go unforgotten. The narrow bezels will allow an optional touch.
Are you looking for auditory and visual enjoyment? Lenovo IdeaPad S340 laptop still got you covered! It gives you the most out of your display thanks to the side bezels, slim top, and Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620. The machine also guarantees a theater-like audio experience. Gamers will find this a significant investment!
The laptop features Intel core i3, Windows 10 Operating system, which comes with built-in security tools to keep you updated with the latest threats. Its controlled weight and finesse facilitates ease in portability. Count a continuous 7 hours of battery life operation when using the beautifully designed Ultrabook. However, gamers and those with graphic needs will need to pass their way since the PC doesn’t have a dedicated graphics card.
- Excellent processor performance
- Fast SSD drives
- Battery life
- Good GPU combo and CPU
- Intel Core i3
- Limited expandable microSD card
Editor Recommend: Lenovo Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals Begin
4. 2020 HP 14 inch Full HD Laptop – Newest for Business and Student
There’s no doubt that this is among the best HP laptops on the market right now. It boasts an AMD Athlon Mobile Processor and comes with a Radeon Graphics. These features make the machine suitable for students. The processor helps you to get more done faster and also keeps up with your everyday tasks.
Need more space for your work? Well, the 4GB system memory, Intel core i5 and 128GB SSD allow basic multitasking. Note that the PCs SSD has less storage space than the hard drive. The SSD is also flash-based and doesn’t have moving parts. This way, you’ll get faster data access and start-up times. You won’t experience the noise like these kali linux recommended specs laptop.
This HP laptop weighs 3.24 lbs as well has a 0.8” thickness, making it ultra-thin and ultralight for easy portability. It features a 14-inch diagonal Full HD display that is anti-glare. The 10-hour battery life is ready to give you a smooth transition from entertainment to meetings without plugging in.
It has the Windows 10 operating system. This operating system will take you back to the Start Menu from Windows 7. It also introduces new features like the Edge Web browser that allow you to mark up the Web pages on your display screen.
- Anti-glare display
- Best for basic multitasking
- Excellent battery life
- Powerful operating system
- Intel core i5
- It runs a bit slow for a PC with 8Gb
Editor Recommend: Best HP Laptop Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals
5. ASUS VivoBook 15 Thin and Light Laptop – With Fingerprint
It’s doubtless that the Asus VivoBook S15 is among the best laptops for MBA students. The latest best laptops under 500 have recently been moving towards getting ultra-light and ultra-thin for portability. And, this Asus product isn’t exempted from the list!
It satisfies all the needs of a student and features a few others like a large screen for gaming. Therefore, whether you work with spreadsheets, or you’re into photo-editing, or you only watch movies on Netflix, this machine will see you through.
It has a large and bright 15.6-inch display, combined with a slimline design hence described as ‘ultra-portable’. The laptop is powered by the latest 10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1 CPU and therefore comes with solid processor performance. And, despite the powerful processor, it runs quietly even when running heavy-duty workloads.
It’s elegant and also sturdy thanks to the unique ergolift design. This design also offers an improved typing position. Now you understand why it’s ranked among the best laptops for college and gaming. Asus pays keen attention to detail by featuring an ergonomic backlit keyboard that comes with a fingerprint sensor.
Asus Vivobook has a comprehensive connection with a USB 3.2 Type-A, a USB 3.2 Type-C, a USB 2.0, as well as an HDMI. You’ll be able to surf the web by connecting the machine to the Gigabit Wi-Fi 5. Storage and memory capacities are included in the Intel core i3, 8GB RAM and the 128 GB SSD, respectively.
- Bright and colorful 15.6-inch screen display
- Backlit keyboard
- Ultra-thin and ultra-light
- Powerful processor
- Intel Core i3
- Merely average battery life
- Weird screen pad
Editor Recommend: Acer Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals Start Now! Come 1st And Get 1st
6. Dell Inspiron 15-5570 15.6in – FHD Touchscreen Laptop
Dell Inspiron is one of the best laptops under 500 that combines excellent performance with an elegant-looking chassis. It relies on matte plastic for the entire lid, and this gives the laptop a simplistic look. The laptop is relatively portable and has excellent hardware specifications. First and foremost is the 8th Generation Intel Core. It also features a 12GB memory and a storage capacity of 1TB 5400 rpm hard drive.
It delivers real entertainment thanks to the 15” screen. Operating its system with Windows 10 gives you the best window features that you know and all the latest improvements you’ll love. More to this is the CinemaSound Waves MaxxAudio Pro that boosts the volume level and brings out every tone with clarity. Also, the CinemaStream Smart Byte channels offer maximum bandwidth to your music and videos for a seamless and stutter-free experience.
In summary, the excellent performance, significant energy efficiency, 12 GB memory, and boosted bandwidth allows you to multitask and run all your apps like a pro. Let’s not forget to mention the seismic storage, multiple storage options, and responsive performance. This is one of the best laptops under 500 that will meet all your needs and preferences.
- Solid performance
- Elegant-looking chassis
- 12 GB memory
- Boosted bandwidth and other multiple storage options
- Poor battery life
- Poor display
7. BMAX 2 in 1 Convertible Laptop – All-Metal Body
BMAX 2-in-1 is a new convertible laptop that has just knocked on the doors of the current market. Other than being pocket-friendly, this laptop offers users enormous benefits that are often found in costlier machines.
Let’s first acknowledge that it’s the only touchscreen on our list today. The laptop boasts an aluminum body that adds to its aesthetic appeal.
Speaking of reliable performance, BMAX proudly utilizes the latest 8th Gen processor making its performance robust and reliable, even for heavy workloads. It also has a decent CPU with four Intel cores, four threads, and 4 M cache of up to 2.6 GHz. BMAX 2-in-1 has an LED display of 9th Gen UHD graphics 600. You can, therefore, expect to watch a wide range of videos and browse on the web. Video and photo editors who rely heavily on graphic cards are welcome here!
This machine comes with Dual-Band Wi-Fi and 4.2 Bluetooth that allows you to share your files freely. It has a 256GB state drive and an 8GB high bandwidth DDR4 RAM, which is ample and expandable storage enough to store all your gaming and school work files. You’ll find an SSD slot at the PC’s bottom for improved performance and better storage components.
Despite its small dimensions, the gadget has some ports. However, it misses the full-size USB Type-A port, and you’ll have to contend with its micro-USB port. This gadget has many other connectivity ports, and you can connect headphones\microphone combo jacks and a micro SD media card reader. If you have an external monitor or projector that you want the laptop to connect to, the integrated mini-HDMI port will be useful.
Imagine a laptop that you can also change into a tablet. Is that not amazing? Well, this one has a 360-degree bargain that holds the display firmly in place at any angle. The slender metal body makes it light to travel with it to college.
- Good performance
- Excellent autonomy and display
- Precise touchpad
- Lacks a standard USB port
- Average battery life
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best laptop for under 500?
Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop is the best yet cheapest laptop for college. While a freshman’s budget is notoriously limited, Acer Aspire comfortably fits into this tight budget and still delivers excellent performance.
What is the best cheap laptop for students?
The best cheap laptops for college freshmen can handle the student’s workload and allow streaming, gaming, and post-coursework streaming. It should also boast a reliable battery life that lasts an entire school day on a single charge.
From our candidates above, the 2020 HP 14 inch Full HD Laptop deserves the win. It doesn’t compromise battery life and portability for its price. It’s also light and portable and can go a long way in a student’s backpack.
What are the best laptops for college students?
From our list, Lenovo Ideapad S340 Laptop is undoubtedly the best overall laptop for college. It guarantees plenty of power for studying, and despite its low price, it still offers reliable performance on par with costlier best laptops from Apple and Microsoft.
It can offer enough power to handle everyday tasks like browsing the web, writing documents, and creating presentations. It’s also small enough and fits to be a companion on the go. With the sturdy build quality, it can easily be chucked into a backpack without any worries.
How much should I spend on a laptop?
Technological advancement has resulted in multiple definite advantages. You can get the best laptop for 200. Seems unbelievable, right? However, if you’re planning to get a gaming laptop under 400, be prepared to compromise in one aspect or another.
For instance, while you can certainly find a powerful laptop at such a price range, you’ll have to learn how to work with a flimsy keyboard and touchpad. If you’re looking for a long-term investment with higher specs, you’ll need to add some cash. Note that expensive doesn’t translate to better. You can still get an affordable laptop that performs better than a more priced machine. The secret is behind understanding the trade-offs.
Quick Tips to Consider When Buying a Laptop Under 500
Choosing the best laptops for college and gaming isn’t easy when there’s too much to consider. Hopefully, your work will be simplified by going through this quick guide.
- Don’t Skimp on the Battery Life
If you want to buy a gaming rig and use it on a desk near an outlet, battery life shouldn’t be a big issue. However, if you’re planning to use the machine on your lap all day long aka best laptop to replace desktop, whether it’s at your workplace or home, go for one with a 7-hour endurance.
Don’t just settle for the manufacturer’s word when determining a laptop’s expected battery life. Instead, go through third-party results and see how it worked for other customers.
- Scrutinize the Keyboard and Touchpad
Impressive specs aren’t about a silver-shining chassis and a large display. When shopping, confirm that the keyboard has reliable tactile feedback, ample key travel, and sufficient space between the keys. If you’re using a Windows 10 laptop, ensure it has Precision touchpad drivers. Go for a precise touchpad that responds consistently to touch screen gestures like pinch-to-zoom.
- Know If You Want a 2-in-1
PC laptops that fall into the 2-in-1 category can switch from the traditional to a tablet mode, clamshell mode, and many other positions. Generally, 2-in-1s come in different styles. These include those that can be detached from the screens, and the flexible ones bend back 360° with a full hd display.
Laptops with these systems are versatile and offer an excellent tablet experience. However, if you can’t see the need for a 2-in-1, you can turn to the traditional clamshell laptop.
- What’s your Preferred Brand?
Your preferred PC is only as good as the manufacturer. Timely technical support is key, as it is what makes a brand worth your cash. You’ll also have to check the competitive advantage that the manufacturer has in the current market. The competition entails how good the manufacturer has set the machine’s value and design in the current market. Reviews will help you determine this.
- Storage
Laptops for college student offer at most 500GB of hard drive space. However, an increasing number of inexpensive Windows 10 PCs opt for SSDs with a capacity range of 128 – 256GB. If your workload needs the capacity of a small-medium SSD, you’d better for one as such for their durability.
- Size
Do you know what? Size isn’t like ROM or RAM; you can never upgrade or change it later. Instead, you’ll be forced to remain with what you chose first, so choose wisely.
If portability is a priority to you, you’ll obviously choose a small-sized laptop. These laptops tend to be ultra-thin and ultra-light. Depending on where you’ll go next with the computer, you’ll need to settle on the right size. If you’re looking for a lightweight laptop, choose one that weighs between 1 – 1.5 kg and has a screen size of 12.5 – 13.5 inches.
Wrap Up
Today’s laptops need to do much more than traditional number-crunchers. They need to support multiple software and standard office packages, given that students undertake several courses, and each has unique requirements.
We’re talking about laptops that should run full HD video lectures while featuring good speakers. And of course, the machine has to be affordable too. With our list of the top 7 best laptops, you have all it takes to get the best laptops for college students. All the best in your purchase!
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About Author
Dean Colin
Dean Colin is an avid reader and an internet enthusiast who is the man behind TheBestLaptops.net where he reviews cutting edge technology.